Flourless chocolate cake: perfect for Passover

For those of us who don’t celebrate Passover, it’s a mystery. We know it’s a major Jewish holiday. We’re pretty sure it’s a happy one. We think it goes on for a few days. But more than that – as I said, mystery. Oh, and one more thing: certain foods are forbidden. Like flour. And […]

For those of us who don’t celebrate Passover, it’s a mystery.

We know it’s a major Jewish holiday. We’re pretty sure it’s a happy one. We think it goes on for a few days.

But more than that – as I said, mystery.

Oh, and one more thing: certain foods are forbidden. Like flour. And leavening, as in yeast, baking powder, baking soda…

Now, for those of us who bake, that makes Passover a pretty challenging occasion, culinarily speaking.

Start with “no flour.” OUCH. How many baked goods can YOU think of that don’t include flour? A fruit-filled meringue pavlova is one. Lemon soufflé is another. And then there’s…. hmmm…

You can find recipes using matzoh meal in place of flour. Or variations on the meringue theme, incorporating chocolate chips, nuts, and other tasty add-ins.

And then there are the recipes where ground nuts stand in for the flour (which works in a low-flour, high-sugar, high-fat, high-egg recipe, such as brownies). But most sound a little forced. Like, too bad we can’t use flour, but we’ll substitute x-y-z instead and it’ll be pretty good.

At the end of the day, there’s one flourless dessert that was born to be flourless. A special treat that doesn’t require compromise, doesn’t need the “almost as good as” label. And that’s Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate, sugar, eggs, and butter. Salt and – if your Passover dietary laws allow it – vanilla and espresso powder. These simple ingredients create magic together, the alchemy of eggs and sugar providing structure, the vanilla and espresso and salt adding flavor, and the chocolate lending its own special qualities: a bit of structure, sumptuous mouth-feel, and the undefined yet intensely compelling quality we all love: CHOCOLATE.

Serve this dense, rich, flourless/unleavened cake at Passover, where it’s the perfect finale to the Seder. But don’t relegate it to once-a-year status. Although it doesn’t have King Arthur Flour’s favorite ingredient, it’s still one of our favorite desserts.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Put 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.

Grease an 8” round cake pan, and line it with parchment. Cut it to size by laying the pan atop the parchment, drawing a circle around it with a marking pen, then cutting it out. Lay the parchment in the pan, and grease the parchment.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will form a thin crust, and it’ll puff up nicely.

Remove the cake from the oven; it should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into its center.

This cake is actually a bit over-baked; I should have lowered the temperature a couple of minutes, because I was using a darker (dark gray) pan.

A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it; again, this is slightly over-baked, as evidenced by the paucity of crumbs.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that’s fine. Also, the edges may crumble a bit, which is also fine.

Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing. When ready to glaze, slip strips of parchment under the edges of the cake, to catch any drips.

To make the icing/ganache, heat 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup heavy cream together until the cream is steaming. Remove from the heat, and stir until the mixture comes together.

P.S. Re: Vermont’s Fifth Season, a.k.a. Mud Season. Those of us in New Hampshire feel your pain, Susan. New Hampshire doesn’t have Mud Season; “the Granite State” is just too rocky. Instead, we have… spring! Here’s what it looks like at my house these days:

PJ Hamel was born in Wisconsin, grew up in New England, and graduated from Brown University. She was a journalist in Massachusetts and Maine before joining the King Arthur Flour Company in 1990, where she's been ever since. Author or co-author of three King Arthur ...

Well – it WAS going to be the traditional sponge cake and strawberries and macaroons. . .I think that this chocolate cake could become a new tradition. Passover is a happy, family-centered holiday with (no surprise) a special dinner at its center. Thanks for the perfectly timed recipe!
Happy Spring – the dogwoods are at peak in Atlanta!
Beth

Hi there- Matzoh meal generally would contain wheat, and I am not well versed in whether the exclusion is flour or all wheat traditionally, but we do not use the matzoh meal here, so this recipe should work for you either way! Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

Oh yum! This comes at the perfect moment since I am planning out my Passover menu. I found a great recipe for homemade matzah and this cake is going to be a wonderful addition to this year’s Seder meal!

The recipe calls for chocolate chips. If I use the Guittard discs, do I use more than a cup, to make up for the bigger pieces that won’t fill a volume as efficiently as the smaller chips? This is when I see why the Europeans weigh ingredients.

As Sharlyne writes regular confectioner’s sugar does contains corm starch which is not permissible during Passover, however there asre to companies that manufature potato starch based confectioners sugar for the Passover holiday; Haddar amd Mishpacha. If you are living in an area with a kosher supermarket you may be able to buy it there or request it for next year.
To make your own confectioner’s sugar you can combine sugar and potato starch in a blender. Place a cup of sugar minus one tablespoon into a blender (or a food processor) and add one tablespoon of potato starch. Pulse. It yields a cup of Passover confectioners’ sugar. It will be more grainy than the regular product but it works fairly well as a stand in for some recipes.

What function does the starch in the confectioners’ sugar actually perform in this recipe? I was going to just grind up some granulated sugar, as Amy suggested above, without bothering with potato starch. But if it serves an important function, I’ll go get some potato starch.

Abby, stay tuned, I’m going to make this cake tomorrow morning by grinding up regular sugar. I think it’ll be fine; the cornstarch would have lent a slight bit of structure and “body,” but I think the eggs will stand in just fine.

I have to publish an apology to P.J. I’m the Jewish woman who sits next to her, who urged her to write a Passover recipe, and who thought the ingredients were suitable… Thanks to everyone for their comments and guidance. I would have never known that cornstarch was on the list of forbidden ingredients.

The downside of all of this is that P.J. had to rebake the recipe this morning, using just regular granulated sugar, no vanilla, and I had the terrible job of needing to taste the results. Delicious! I’ll definitely be baking one this Saturday.

Michelle, originally the recipe called for 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Plus 2 teaspoons vanilla in the cake, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in the icing. I didn’t notice any change in consistency in the cake with the substitution of 100% granulated sugar; I think the chocolate and eggs are the main players, structure-wise, so banishing the small amount of cornstarch (in the confectioners’ sugar) didn’t hurt anything.

About the flourless chcolate cake, you can now buy confectioners’ sugar that is kosher for passover (has no cornstarch). Also see Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts for her Queen Mother’s Cake which uses ground almonds. Wonderful! You can also find it online at http://www.caderbooks.com/exmcake.html

Cornstarch is added to confectioners’ sugar to prevent it from lumping, I’ve been told. Superfine sugar can be whirled in the blender until it’s even finer, if kosher-for-Passover confectioners’ sugar isn’t available.

If you have access to certified Passover food, such markets usually sell granulated sugar infused with vanillin. It’s the only time of the year I use artificial vanilla, but vanillin sugar passes muster in any flavorful Passover dessert, especially one with chocolate! The Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla paste available from KA and elsewhere appears to contain no alcohol–forbidden during Passover, except for kosher-for-Passover wines–but alas! I just checked the label, and this paste contains a bit of vanilla extract, which means there’s alcohol there after all.

Corn (and cornstarch) is one of the five grains forbidden in their everyday form during Passover. The others are wheat (other than that which is processed under strict, complex standards to make matzo, matzo meal, matzo cake meal, etc.), barley, oats, and spelt. So that’s why Passover baking recipes may call for potato starch and/or ground nuts.

When my sons were little, I bought two pounds of whole spelt from The Baker’s Catalogue to give to the heads of the Jewish nursery school and day school that they attended, and before the holiday they showed this ancient grain around to their students. Hardly any of the grown-ups had ever seen it, either–thanks, KA!

Passover is a time when those of us who are Jewish and who bake frequently must change our ways completely for eight days. Thanks for helping us with new and delightful dishes for the holiday. Marcy Goldman’s book, “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking,” has a chapter on Passover, and it’s a batter-splattered volume to which I turn all year ’round. Now that Deanna mentions it, though, I’ll have to make that Queen Mother’s Cake again!

Passover is the holiday that reminds Jews that onece they were slaves in the land of Egypt and then they left. to wander in the desert for 40 years. Then they travelled to the land an they now know as Israel..

You might also add to turn the ink/pencil/marker side down in the cake pan. Most folks know that but the newer bakers may not think about it. We don’t want marker “ick” in our cake. Looks like a wonderful recipe. I have one co-worker who gets a flourless chocolate cake on her birthday. This one will definitely be the next one to try. Thanks for the blog–it’s really been fun to read and of course the recipes are wonderful to add to my collection!

Okay, I’m pretty sure this recipe is illegal in my county, but who is going to tell one me?
I opted for bittersweet chips (the only ones I had on hand), and used only one teaspoon of expresso powder. But I didn’t stop there. I added a bit of vanilla and a bit of orange flavoring, oh, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. My spices and flavorings were dialing my number and I had to answer the call.
After the mayhem I emailed the recipe (AND, your step-by-step instructions. .. KUDOS and THANKS!) to my family and friends. This will be the sweetest email they receive today.

The foods that are forbidden at Passover vary with the branch of Judaism one favors. Everyone eschews wheat (except for matzo), rye, oats, barley and spelt. Not everyone avoids corn, rice, and legumes.

this was the easiest chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I used a springform pan and it was super easy to remove the cake after baking.

Also, I was running late and ended up icing it while still hot–I got good reviews (no one ever really complains about cake being still oven-warm!) but I thought the icing and cake was much better after an overnight in the fridge. So, it definitely can be made ahead.

I put my daughter on the task of making this cake, and for whatever reason, it needed a lot more time baking than it got, because our result was a barely thickened batter. Also, kosher-for-Passover chocolate is pretty low quality, and it produced a grainy ganache. I did not love the result, so I dumped the baked and iced cake back into a bowl and recombined it with maybe a half cup of ground almonds. I baked it again in a cake pan lined with waxed paper for about an hour at 350. That’s a dangerous thing to do to chocolate, which burns easily, but actually the slightly burned bottom enhanced the chocolate-y taste with a bit of caramelizing and added a chewy texture, which one doesn’t find too often in kosher-for-Passover baked goods. It’s like a really rich, chewy brownie.

I made the cake for my family and everyone loved it. I was a little worried that it was overdone as I was baking at my father’s house and the oven seemed very hot. It all worked out though! I think I would use a 7′ pan in future to increase the height.

I know this is a little late for Passover, but it might come in handy for next year….
Why not replace the sugar and the vanilla with vanilla sugar? There is no alcohol and you can make it easily at home with some vanilla beans, some sugar and some time in the pantry.

I made the cake for passover. It was dense, rich in chocolate and delicious.I think a little less sugar would also suffice. I used half sugar and half Splenda. The chocolate ganache was delicious. A very small piece is all anyone needed.

It’s a little early for Passover, but I’m curious is it possible to make this with extra light olive oil instead of margarine? A lot of people use margarine but while I do use cocoa powder and chocolate chips I don’t use margarine on Passover. I do use a recipe that remarkably uses only eggs (separated), cocoa powder, salt, oil and not much else but it’s a little, errm, interesting the result. I don’t use canola oil because it’s something observant Eastern European Jews don’t use that on Passover. Yes. This is meant to be confusing because it is! )

OK – consider me TOTALLY confused! And all I can say about light olive oil is, give it a try and let us know…- PJH

I’m interested in trying this with a neutral-flavored oil instead of solid shortening, too. Will anyone who has tried making such a version let us know how it worked? If I do it first, I’ll return the favor. Thanks!

Shortly after I posted last I made the cake mostly regular (no espresso powder and marg. for the butter and no glaze as it had to be nondairy) for a birthday get-together and just this past Shabbat I tried it again with the light olive oil. It had been awhile since the first try but I couldn’t tell a difference. It was moist, fudgy and rich and I can’t believe it’s kosher for for me to eat on Passover!
Thanks a lot!

I’ve made this cake (or similar) for years and the original recipe did have flour, but I substituted sifted cocoa powder. Also, I beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy, add cocoa powder, then fold into the melted butter/chocolate mixture. I also serve with a raspberry sauce or fresh raspberries that’ve been macerated in raspberry liquor(sp?) and sugar.
PS: why is vanilla not kosher? just curious.

Kosher for Passover = no alcohol. Some kosher bakers who made this recipe used vanilla flavored sugar or vanilla bean paste. Thanks for sharing your techique and delicious sauce. Irene @ KAF

As a company that makes AMAZING gluten free (aka, no “flour”) mixes, I am a little disappointed in the start of this post…that said, this is also a gluten free yumminess and one of my all time favorites!!! And now I want some. But it’s 9 pm on a Thursday night. Sigh.

Sorry you didn’t like the beginning, but I hope you’re able to enjoy the sweet ending, B! PJH

Thanks for posting a Passover recipe. It is impossible to please everyone, especially when it comes to K4P because the traditions vary, and I am so impressed and pleased that you tried. The field adjustments and refinements by very capable and loyal home bakers are so fun to read. I like the experimentation and outside-the-boring-boxed-mix thinking I’ve seen on this blog. So often Passover (or parve) recipes try to replicate something else instead of being an amazing creation in it own right that anyone would think is tasty any other time of year. Keep the recipes coming… (btw, KAF is the only brand of flour I use in my Shabbat challah recipes and is used in all of my challah demonstrations and lessons the rest of the year.) Thank you so much for the kind comments and encouragement. ~Amy

I wish people would stop adding espresso or coffee to chocolate. Not needed if you use really good chocolate. … I can’t have coffee in any way shape or form. I’ve had to stop eating chocolate for dessert at restaurants unless I can confirm they did not use coffee/espresso in their dessert. This recipe is certainly doable without the powder- give it a try! ~Amy

I just made this recipe with unrefined coconut oil instead of butter. It came out excellent! The cake can be dairy free if you use coconut oil instead of butter and make sure your chocolate does not have any milk in it. I put raspberry jam on the top instead of the ganache and it was delicious.

Shoshana, I have made chocolate cake with pure extra-virgin olive oil and I used the recipe on the Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder container. (I made my cake eggless by substituting yoghurt for the eggs). The taste? Couldn’t tell any difference from using olive oil instead of my usual sunflower oil. I think you can try the olive oil for your flourless cake.

I love the combination of olive oil and chocolate, although some people are more sensitive to it (and it largely depends on the quality/flavors of the olive oil you use!), but great ideas, Marie! Kim@KAF

If you do not use vanilla on Passover, you can make vanilla sugar by splitting a vanilla bean (permitted) and adding it and the seeds to some sugar. Give it a good shake and store it in a pantry/cabinet. Then when you need it for baking simply substitute some of the vanilla sugar for the regular sugar.

I have been making this exact recipe for the past two years. It is absolutely delicious! I am a glueten free girl and I prepare this cake for my family at least 4 times each year. It is my favorite birthday cake and will remain in the #1 spot on my list for many years to come. It is very easy to make, do not be afraid of this what so ever. Bake at a lower temperature to insure that it does not get too dark.

I have also substituted Stevia sugar for the regular sugar. Stevia will tend to brown quickly so make extra sure you decrease oven temp by 25 to 30 degrees if you choose to use Stevia. Also, omit adding salt when using Stevia as it naturally has a salty flavor. Enjoy!Thanks for sharing your tips Phyllis. It is always helpful to hear from someone who has “been there, done that”. Happy baking! ~ MaryJane

Powdered sugar with tapioca starch instead of corn starch is available at Trader Joe’s and places like Whole Foods, if this is suitable for Passover. Or, if you have a super-blender like a Vitamix (with the DRY ingredient container) makes powdered sugar out of regular sugar in a jiffy, no starch needed! (The corn/tapioca starch is there to keep it from clumping while it sits on the store shelf)
-A corn-allergic shiksa

At our New Year’s dinner this year I decided to bake your flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Well, I used bittersweet chocolate for the chips also used espresso powder making this cake REALLY chocolaty. Not thinking my two grandsons ages 7 and 5 would eat it at all. I cut the cake into sixteen slices because it is so rich. They each ate TWO pieces. Lucky for me, I sent them home with their parents. The cake really is the best and fastest cake I have ever baked. Never have had a failure with it. Thanks, and Happy New Year

Alma, I agree, I wouldn’t think little boys would go for such a dark chocolate cake – they’re developing their gourmet palates early, I guess! Thanks for sharing here, and Happy new year to you, too – PJH

This flourless chocolate cake is the absolute best! Thanks to the KAF staff I made it this morning, brought it to an early Passover dinner with my family today – which was the only day we could all get together – even though Passover starts tomorrow night. There were only a few crumbs left when we finished. Easy to make and delicious to eat.

This cake looks FAB! I live at 7800′ in Colorado. Since there are no leavening agents, would it be OK to make as is with no adjustments for the high altitude? Any suggestions would be welcome! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE KAF!!!

Catie, good question – I think it would just be a matter of ascertaining how much of one of those milks. I’d suggest you make a small amount as a test, using less milk; maybe try 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk. Make it and let it set; is it the consistency you like? If so, then simply scale those amounts up, and you should be all set. Good luck, and Happy Passover to you, too! PJH

I am wondering if I can double the cake recipe and bake it in a 10 inch round aluminum cake pan? I would love to make this for Easter tomorrow…but don’t own an 8 inch pan…the family is too big for that size! Thanks for your help!

I made this for my gluten-free Easter dessert and it WAS delish. My baking time was 10 minutes longer in a traditional light-color metal cake pan. I ‘took its temperature’ at 25 mins and it was barely at 180 degrees with gooey batter on the thermometer when I removed it. I added 5 mins, it was still only around 190 degrees with less gooey batter. 5 more mins and it barely made it to 200 degrees, and I do think it was still a tad underbaked, but I love underbaked dough. I cooled it in the pan as instructed, flipped it out, but it sank in the middle. Not sure if this might have been from all of the times I had to open the oven door and put a probe into the cake? I did sub bittersweet chips for 3/4 of the chips which added a lovely dark chocolateness to this cake. I will make it again for sure.

I am so glad the flavor was what you were looking for Beth. Because the cake sunk some, I am wondering if your thermometer may be reading incorrectly? Try boiling some water and test your thermometer for accuracy. Elisabeth@KAF

I can’t believe the very last comment I read addressed my issue – I have made this incredibly delicious cake twice, and both times mine sank a good deal in the middle after turning it out. I was surprised to see only one other person had a similar result. I will double check my thermometer as suggested, but am wondering if my 5280′ altitude may be a factor as well? Or????
Nonetheless, I can tell you that adding enough ganache to even out the top isn’t the worst fix in the world – only that you may have to fight for the middle with it’s extra inch or so of lovely, yummy, addictive ganache! Thanks for the really delicious recipe!

Hi Mary, I’m not sure if altitude was a factor in your cake falling in the middle, but you may want to check some of our high altitude baking tips to see if they make a difference the next time you bake this cake.

This cake is amazing. I’ve been asked to make it for a party of 30. I would like to make the cakes ahead of time. Does anyone know if they would freeze well? I would freeze just the cakes and frost later. Thanks so much!

This cake should freeze very well for you Diana! I would double wrap them before freezing them, and then thaw them overnight in the fridge the day before you’d like to use them. You were right on track with frosting them just before serving and you should be all set to go! Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

You could try cutting the sugar by about 25% but I would be hesitant to do any more than that. It could compromise the flavor and the structure. If using a sugar substitute, try replacing just half of the sugar with the substitute. Enjoy and good luck! Elisabeth@KAF

Sue, to make Passover not quite as busy for yourself, you can make this cake ahead of time and freeze it for up to 2-3 months. I will say however, that the shorter the amount of time this cake is in the freezer, the better it will taste! The chocolate glaze can be prepared the day ahead of time and then kept in the fridge. Simply rewarm the glaze in the microwave or over a double-boiler before pouring it over the chocolate cake when ready to eat this tasty cake. Confession: this flourless chocolate cake is my absolute FAVORITE dessert…and there are a lot of tasty desserts out there. Be encouraged that your Passover guests are going to be impressed, indeed! Good luck and happy baking! –Kye@KAF

I would love to bake this for my gluten free, dairy free, sugar free friend. I read on one comment someone had substituted coconut milk for the cream, which I will do. But what do you suggest as a substitute for the sugar? So many products that are sugar free have such an odd flavor.

We don’t use sugar substitutes, Rhonda, so it’s difficult to recommend one. The sugar also adds to the structure of the cake. You might work with half the sugar as a compromise. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF